5 speed oil level?

crankpot · Post by **crankpot** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:26 am

Hi guys,

My caddy project continues... Now with 2000 miles on the rebuild and brand new injectors, it really runs great. Wonderful smileage, starts with an snap and no more jet fuel smells from leaking injectors.

I just dropped the perfectly good 4 speed and installed a used 5 speed FN trans, praying it will be a good unit. I changed all the seals, and will give it a good flush with ATF.

My Bentley says to fill the oil level in the trans up to the level of the fill port, but I remember reading that the trans needs to be overfilled by adding oil to the speedo hole to insure the 5th gear remains properly lubed.

Anyone help me here with the oil servicing issue for FN trannys?

Thannks!

Bob

VanagonExpress · Post by **VanagonExpress** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:08 am

Use synthetic----

fill from the side hole until it begins to flow out....if you over flow, you risk blowing the seal at the input shaft, and messing up the clutch

(Been there did that....)

You will like the 5 speed, in my Caddy resto, that was just completed, I pulled out a few years ago, the old 5 speed OEM, installed a 83 GTI Westmoreland 5 speed (FF?) loved it...around town that is....highway it sucked---

I put in an AU (?) from a 85 Golf gas. Great gears, with a really long legged 5th gear that almost is an over kill.

At one time I kicked the idea around of a 9A, but nixed that idea when I learned the CV's were 100mm over the 90mm.

Use synthetics in that trans....

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:17 pm

BrokeVw has some good info for you.

http://www.brokevw.com/020oil.html

I quote his page...

For trans made after Sept 8, 1987 (shown as trans as 08097), then you add fluid to the trans until it runs out of the red circled side 17mm hole. Proper fluid (2.0L) is when the fluid level in the trans is even and level with the bottom of that drain hole.

For trans made before Sept 8, 1987, you do the same as above, adding fluid until it starts to run out of the side 17mm hole, then you plug that hole back up, and add 0.5L more fluid into the trans via the speedo hole in the yellow circle.

That mfg date is when VW moved the red circled hole up on the side of the case by 7mm. The date code will be the last 5 digits after the trans code. It is arranged as day-day-month-month-year, so 08097 is 08 day in 09 month in the 7th year of that decade. If it is a MK3 2.0L car, you know it is 1997, if it is a MK2 trans, it would be 1987, etc..

Proper fill capacity on all the 020 trans, regardless of the manufacture date, is 2.1 US Quarts or 2.0 Liters.

I hate filling with a squeeze bottle so I think it would be easiest to just pull the speedo cable and using a long skinney funnel fill the trans through the speedo using 2.1 quarts. Especially if you have the early one that you have to pull the speedo anyway. But why bother looking up your date, remembering early/late, pulling fill plug ect. Just fill all with 2.1 through speedo hole.

JRM · Post by **JRM** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:45 pm

2.1 US quarts of nice 75w90 via speedo hole will make your shifting wonderful. I used valvoline dyno oil as I change it often since there is no filter.. Good times

VWCaddy · Post by **VWCaddy** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 3:31 pm

Yep, overfill (the fill plug level) with 2 liters of oil in total:
http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/ ... html#FAQ20

I hope to one day have a version of my 020 transaxle oil dip stick available for sale. I have a prototype part and should be able to make thm for around $20.

crankpot · Post by **crankpot** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:38 pm

Thanks!!

Bob

surfcam · Post by **surfcam** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:30 pm

I always jacked the driver side of the car up 3â€

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:13 pm

As a bit of added info on the "over-filling" of the 5-speed trans, here's a little fun fact. The engine in the rabbit/golf/jetta is oriented at a 15Â° angle. The fill hole on the 5-speeds would measure accurately if the cylinders were exactly vertical rather than tipped the 15Â°.

Apparently the engineer who designed the casting goofed...

Andrew

JRM · Post by **JRM** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:42 pm

or maybe VW had the same level of communication the company I work for does

Post by **Fatmobile** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:28 am

I've been filling them to halfway up the speedo gear.
I filled a trany properly once, stuck the speedo gear in and the lube level was half way up the geared area.

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:00 am

Today I filled mine. I'm putting it together following the engine rebuild.

I put exactly 3.1 quarts in through the speedo hole.

When I pulled out the funnel and the expensive sythetic oil was running out the hole I realized it was 2.1 quarts!

JRM · Post by **JRM** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:18 am

I have 80w90 in my vw, now that the nights are in the 30's I have noticed poor shifting and grinding into 2nd and 3rd. Its only noticable when I leave work as my home is in a low traffic long gravel road rural area plus i park in a heated garage. I work in the middle of a metro hub and must hang with "todays" metro traffic on a ice cold tranny when I leave work and this 23 year old VW is barly hanging in there.....

wbhgrace · Post by **wbhgrace** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:02 am

Here's a photo of a dipstick I cobbled together after draining and re-filling my '81 Rabbit's FF 5-speed. With 2 Qt, 4 oz of new oil in the transaxle, the oil level was 1.8 inches below the surface of the trans casting at the speedometer cable hole. This was measured perpendicular to the casting surface at the approximate center of the hole (with the car level).

[/img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/13558423@N02/2170694143/

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:55 pm

You should post that in the homemade tools thread.

viewtopic.php?t=771

Post by **Fatmobile** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:48 am

Great info.
1.8"
Next time I have a cutoff wheel in my hand, I'm going to make something,... it won't look as nice as yours but it should work.